Middletown Republican Announces Run For City Treasurer

Vows To Seek Elimination Of The Treasurer Position

MIDDLETOWN — Molly Salafia, a Republican planning and zoning commission member, said she will run for city treasurer this November, and will push for the elimination of the treasurer position from city government.

Republicans at a convention on July nominated Ryan Kennedy, a current school board member running for a seat on the common council in November, to be a placeholder for the position.

On Tuesday, the Republican Town Committee filled out the necessary paperwork for Kennedy to be removed from candidacy and for Salafia to enter the race for the Nov. 5 election.

"My main reason for running for city treasurer is to begin the process of eliminating this superfluous figurehead position," Salafia wrote in a statement. "In the past this position had relevant duties; currently however, the treasurer attends a handful of meetings a year, and has a rubber stamp of his or her signature the finance department uses on checks."

Salafia called the position a "patronage prize" and said the job is "one that taxpayers are already paying the finance department to do."

The mayor's budget proposal this spring called for a $4,750 stipend for the position plus $383 for the treasurer's office supplies and other expenses, like a nameplate and business cards, but the common council reduced the stipend to $4,000 when it adopted a budget in May.

The city treasurer position in the 2013-14 budget has a total cost to the city of $4,383.

City Treasurer Quentin Phipps, who is running for a second term on the Democrat ticket this fall, disagreed with Salafia's assertion that the position is superfluous.

"For the financial health and safety of Middletown it's important that the administrative and financial duties of the treasurer remain," Phipps said. "There needs to be another watchful eye on all of our bonding, our deposits and our review of city audits."

Phipps said the treasurer does not answer to the mayor, and therefore is a critical independent position in the city's financial process. He said the treasurer is an added layer of security to make sure transactions from the finance department are done legally and appropriately.

The treasurer position is required by state law, and Salafia said if elected she would try to get the city an exemption from the state law and lead an effort to change the city charter to eliminate the position.